Happy Wanderer: Paris 2018

4 October 2018

Paris 2018 – Day 2

Steps today: 25 498. Frankly, I thought it would be more. As you can see from my map below, I walked all the way across town from the Eiffel Tower to the Bastille – I really thought I would have racked up more steps.

Again, if I could get a full screen image of the map it would be much more interesting! The best I can do is this:

I slept until 7:45 this morning! That’s quite something for me… wow, what a difference no cats make! I had my alarm set for 8AM, I figure if I am still sleeping at that time it’s because I need it, but at the same time I don’t want to sleep the day away.

I was out the door by 8:15 and had the idea to get a chocolate croissant from a bakery for breakfast thinking it would be extra-super good. It was good, but my eyes didn’t roll back in my head.

Needing coffee, I stopped a little later in the morning for a continental breakfast in a cafe which includes a croissant, but the waiter forgot it. I was a bit relieved… considering I already ate one, I was already starting to feel full! It was so nice to be outside that I braved the smoke.

Among other sightseeing pitstops that filled my morning, I was extra impressed by the restoration work going on at the St German Abbey. Compared to the first time I saw it in 2004 it’s incredible! The final outcome will be spectacular.

I saw what is supposed to be the oldest tree in Paris – planted in 1602

Saint-Séverin Church… that’s a lot of oil spillers!

The Narrowest House in Paris

This Plaque to the Paris Peace Treaty was a fail! It was removed!

By 11:15, it was time to sit down and what better place than Les Deux Magots with a glass of Sauternes? It was great, but BOY is that place touristy!

After this, a walk through the Luxembourg Gardens.

And the a visit to the Martyrs of the Deportation Memorial.

More seeing brought me to the Hôtel de Sens to see the Cannon Ball imbedded in the facade left over from the revolution.

A section of the medieval wall that used to surround Paris

I also checked in on the July Column in Place de la Bastille to see how the restoration is coming along. It wasn’t boarded up any more so that’s a good sign!

It was almost 2:30 by then and I was getting hungry. Months ago, I saw a Youtube clip of a restaurant in Paris serving Aligot that I was very curious to try. I googled the hours and they close at 3:30 and reopen again at 7PM. I was not going to make it there on time for lunch, and returning at 7 for supper was out of the question so I decided to turn back and check out an area I spotted on a previous trip that seemed to have a lot of nice restos. As I was walking, this cafe materialized in front of me with “aligot saucisse” listed as item #1 on their specials board! SOLD!

Holy crap it was good!!! But I have to admit I was belching and farting all afternoon! ha!

After lunch (3:30 by then) I walked through Place des Voges, and then about a 30 minute walk away to see 5 slabs embedded in the street from a guillotine that was installed in that location from 1851 to 1899 and made over 200 hundred people about a foot shorter at the top.

It was a hot day. I had said to myself that since my hotel room was so well situated that I could easily come back to the room and change into cooler clothes in the afternoon…. well I didn’t so I was getting sticky and sweaty! I needed a walking break and took the metro to the Montmartre area.

I visited the of Church of Saint-Jean-de-Montmartre

Wadded through a hoard of tourists at the Love Wall – this was the best I could do!

And among other random sights, this interesting art work called Le Passe-Muraille.

It was after 5PM by then, so I had to start thinking of supper but since I had such a late and heavy lunch I decided to walk towards the Seine and see how (if) my appetite would come back. I didn’t last long walking in the sun, so back into the metro I went to get close to the Eiffel Tower area.

I stopped for a digestif to help digest the gurgling feast still roiling in my stomach… sub par Cordon Jaune.